Country Classic Flashback Features Sammy Kershaw [VIDEO]

Each Wednesday we take a jaunt down memory lane to highlight a classic country artist. This week we're featuring Sammy Kershaw.

Sammy is grew up in Louisiana and when he turned 11, his grandfather gave him his first guitar. His father passed away shortly after and as the oldest of four children, he worked several day jobs and played clubs at night to help support the rest of his family. Just barely in his teens, he was opening for the likes of Ray Price, Merle Haggard and George Jones, whom his voice is often compared to.

At a fairly young age, he developed a drug and drinking habit. In 1988 he took a brief break from music and worked as a remodeling supervisor for Wal-Mart. Throughout that time, he made demo tapes one of which made its way to Mercury Records.

He signed on with them in 1991 and his debut album did really well. His sophomore album included his Top 10 hit Queen of My Double Wide Trailer. He was told by several folks that the country audience might not relate to the subject of the song, but he was adamant about releasing it because he'd had a similar experience in the past.

His next albums did pretty good commercially but the singles themselves weren't Top 10's. Sammy kind of drifted away and ventured in to other things -- he purchased a NASCAR Busch series team and began dabbling in politics. In 2007, he was unsuccessful in his bid for lieutenant governor of Louisiana. He ran again in 2010 and was defeated.

Sammy, who is a resident of Lafeyette, came to the aid of fisherman and shrimpers who were affected by the BP oil spill in the Gulf. In 2010 he became the official spokesperson for www.protectourcoastline.org, which provides relief to those in the fish and shrimp business.

Sammy has new music coming out! Get the inside scoop by watching the video below.